It’s an End of an Era

7:00 AM: Burn Intervals – COMPLETED

1:30 PM: Track Workout 1×400; 3x800s, 1×200 (5.25 Mile Run)- COMPLETED

My desk is cleaned off and it’s ready to tackle whatever needs to be tackled in 2013.

I’ve eaten my lunch and dressed in my workout clothes. I’m ready to meet Celeste for a track workout.

The flexibility of my job. HA! It’s also an end of era here. My girlfriend that I work with — who, after 6 years turned into one of my closest friends ever, is leaving for good. She’s having a baby girl in April and will be preparing her arrival. I’m going to miss her. She’s been such a wonderful friend, and soon an a amazing mother.

(Taken November 2011).

It really is an end of an era.

Happy Holidays!

Are you getting out of work early today? I’m leaving at 1pm!!!!

NYC 2012: The Resolution

7:15 AM: Lean Circuit 3 (Strength 40 Minutes) – COMPLETED

11:00 AM: 5.4 Mile Tempo Run (Avg. Pace 8:27 min/mi) – COMPLETED

I had a late start this morning because this kid wouldn’t wake up. (She slept with me as she’s still a bit sick — going back to crib status tonight).

sleeping beauty

I didn’t have plans to run before work because I really was craving an outdoor run. I missed my run at lunch yesterday so my lovely husband pulled out the treadmill before I got home and after I cooked dinner, I was able to run 3-miles before I ate. Not my best, but better than no miles. Since the big boss is out until January 2nd and my boss doesn’t have much for me to do, I was able to sneak out of the office at 11 for a run. Before I left, I opened her Christmas gift and she got me a new workout top. I decided to use it on today’s run.

New workout top

At first, I regretted not bringing pants. It was SO cold and I had at least three people give me an insane look and one person said, “YOU’RE NOT COLD?” I said, “Eh, I’ll warm up.” The look on my face was not that convincing, but after mile 1, I was happy with the shorts. I quickly regretted not wearing short sleeves and arm warmers though. I was HOT by mile 3. In any event, it was a great run for me.

When I got back to the office, I received an email from NYRR, The Resolution to NYC 2012. They are giving us three (3) options:

1. A full refund (excluding the $11 processing fee). FYI, I paid $260.
2. Guaranteed entry in either 2013, 2014 or 2015. We would still have to pay full fee for the race, but it’s a guaranteed entry.
3. Guaranteed entry for the NYC Half Marathon (limited space available).

So there you have it. You can still get a guaranteed entry if you do the 9+1 with NYRR, however, I believe that they are getting rid of the lottery option at some point. I’m thinking I might get a guaranteed entry in 2014. I’m not sure what my race schedule will look like in 2013 and I believe they are getting rid of the “lottery” sometime in the next year, which is, the way I got in to the NYC marathon. Can you believe I first signed up in 2009?

What option would you choose?

If 9+1 was easier for me, then I would totally get a full refund and then go that route, but I don’t know if that would work in my case. With child, doing 9 races in the city is just too much.

Holiday Mode

7:15 AM: 4-Mile Run (Avg. Pace 8:41 min/mi) – COMPLETED

I don’t know about you folks, but I am in holiday mode. I definitely do not want to be working. Hmm, wait, that might be how I feel daily. I keep telling myself, “just 3 more days… 3 more days!” Then I don’t return to work until January 2, 2013.

On another note, I had told myself that I’d stay away from chocolates and all sorts of yummy-ness after Thanksgiving and then eat, eat, eat when the holiday gets here. Yeah RIGHT! At least I work out, right?

I caught this little girl working out yesterday. She had no idea I was watching her.

She Works Out

She’s making room for some Christmas cookies and pies.

Do you overeat for the holidays? What are your favorite holiday desserts/foods?

I don’t hold back on anything. Try this… SURE!

A Change of Luck

6:45 AM: Strength & Core (45-Minutes) – COMPLETED

Why do the weekends go too fast? I’m hoping that next week will go as slow as molasses. Quick recap: Friday, was just a sad, sad day in America. My heart weighs heavy for the families in Newtown, CT. The only thing I wanted to do was go home and hug Lili. On top of her being sick and having to care for her, I really hugged her extra hard that night.

Mi Vida

Stolen shots are always the best kinds.

Saturday morning, we woke up early and Lili was still sick, so my plans to run outdoors with the jogger was a no go. I ended up getting on the tread for 3-miles while Lili ran around. Then I did a good 45-minuts interval workout (strength/core).

I run: Baby plays.

I allowed Pedro to sleep in because he had no clue that tomorrow morning he’d have baby duty at 7:30 AM. He woke up close to 11:45 and then I jumped in the shower. I fed Lili and then put her down to nap at 1:15. At 1:45, I headed out to a holiday party at my part-time job It was my 15th Christmas party with them (since 1998).

Tammy & I

Spanish food

Food was delicious and I even won $2.00 off the scratch off that she gives us. It was a fun 3-hours, but I was ready to get home to the family.

When I got home, I had to feed P and Lili. Lili also got some Christmas gifts from my boss.

Mistletoe

Oh, I gave her a bazillion and one kisses since she was wearing mistletoe.

Hollywood.

She was digging these sunglasses. She also got a tutu, crayons, stickers, ornaments, etc. She was happy.

The rest of the night went okay. I laid out my running clothes, tried to put Lili to sleep, etc., etc. I slept way too late and almost canceled my run, BUT I didn’t want to cheat myself.

I met up with the girls at 7:45. We were following my sister’s schedule (10-miles at 10:30-10:44 min/mi pace and 2-miles at 9:44 min/mi). For the most part we stuck to that schedule. We dropped my sister off and then Celeste and I did 400m at 6:30 min/mi and the last two miles respectively at 8:40 and 8:36 min/mi — it’s our planned MRP.

Remember this tree?

The tree has been cleared.

Overall it was a great run; 14.75 with one of my new pairs of running shoes. I hate breaking them in.

And finally, after all the lottery drawings I’ve entered for races, I finally got into one!!!

Cherry Blossom 10-Miler

I’m so excited because we LOVE D.C.

Have you ever gotten in races through lottery drawings? Have you ever ran Cherry Blossom? If so, how’s the course? Tips?

Sick Baby

We almost made it through the end of the year with no more sickness (she’s been sick way too much this past year). Our bumblebee is sick, sick, sick!

Manages a smile even through her sickness

I sent this picture to Pedro yesterday since he’s out for business. His exact text back to me was:

“Holy Crap! She looks just like you here. Hopefully she grows out of it soon!” — The Love of My Life.

All plans for this weekend (for me, at least) are canceled now. I have to nurse my sick baby pack to healthy before the holidays. Also, I need to keep my husband healthy (because we don’t need two sick babies running around the house) and myself healthy – because God knows the house won’t function with me sick. Well, it probably will, BUT it will look like a tornado/hurricane/tropical storm/tsunami invaded the house.

At least it’s Friday! Anybody have great plans? Tell me so I can live vicariously through you.

I’m Kind of a Big Deal (Okay, Not Really)…

6:45 AM: Lean Circuit 3 (40-Minutes) – COMPLETED

12:00 PM: 4.6-Miles Rolling Hills – Avg. Pace 8:44 min/mi – COMPLETED

A girlfriend of mine posted a picture of me on my Facebook wall yesterday; a picture of me in Runner’s World magazine. Oh, I’m famous… Okay, it’s not a front cover thing or anything, just a random “little” picture in the Marathon Guide 2013 section — VT Marathon.

Runner’s World Star (Okay, not really).

There we are, on page 92. Seriously, NOT a big deal at all. My name isn’t in it. I wasn’t interviewed… It was just exciting that there’s a picture of me in a running magazine!!!

True Confession. I once told Pedro that I would love to be on the cover of a running magazine — maybe one in the Philippines. He turned to me and said, “Pshhh, you better start training hard and getting in the front line with the elite runners. In fact, maybe you should run a marathon 9-months pregnant smoking a cigarette — you’ll definitely get on a cover (or on the news) of something!”. Folks, that’s my #1 fan.

Have you ever been in a magazine before?

Random Tuesday

6:00 AM: Lean Intervals (45-Minutes) – COMPLETED

12:00 PM: 3.25 Mile Run (Avg. Pace 8:27 min/mi) – COMPLETED

1. True Story, I have lots of pen-pals. Yes, I do. I love each and every one of them. Some of them, I’ve met; others, I’m waiting to meet. I saw this e-card and sent it to Pedro because I thought it was so me.

HA!

So true. While I may have friends, only a few are close and trust worthy friends. Then I have my friends that I’ve met through blogs and/or livestrong — all having the same interests as myself: running/fitness & nutrition. My girlfriend, Suz, just sent me a 2013 moleskin calendar (which I cannot wait to use).

Source

She will be getting a lovely package of REN items.

I also received Christmas package from my girlfriend, Allie. TWO packages at that, but the first big one is under the tree. The other one, I couldn’t resist and opened it.

K-CUPS GALORE

I was SOOOOO excited when I received this package — So many varieties. Oh, my Keurig is going to have a ball (both at home and work).

My packages for my online friends went out late last week.

I love giving gifts more than getting. It’s exciting to see someone’s face (though I never get to see their faces) —

Oh, and I just ordered our Christmas cards on Snapfish. They had a 40% off deal if you ordered holiday cards from them. I just received the email that it went out today. AMAZINGLY FAST!!!

2. I have this thing about correcting mistakes. Last week, my girlfriend came over and I made my MIL’s Chicken Paella. Unfortunately, it came out bland. I have no idea how that happened since I followed my directions perfectly, but then as I was logging in my food (yes, I log it in), I saw an ingredient that I didn’t put it. When I retyped the recipe, I left it out, so I made sure to edit the recipe.

Chicken Paella

It definitely was that missing ingredient that made it bland!!! My husband left no grain of rice on his plate and even said if there were more, he’d go back for thirds. I’m glad that we fixed the problem. It’s such a good recipe. Next time I’m trying it with brown rice.

3. I went to shoe heaven yesterday — No, no, not Jimmy Choo or Louboutin, though that would be another piece of heaven.

Heaven

And yes, I spent $225. I’m picking up my running shoes on my lunch run. After hill repeats of course. The running store happens to conveniently be down the street from my job. Oh, mama needs new pairs of shoes.

Do you send out packages for the holidays?

Do you wear different shoes for speed v. long runs?

Weekend Recap

6:50 AM: Chaelene Extreme Lean Circuit 1 (45-Minutes)- COMPLETED

A very quick weekend recap before I get into the title:

Friday: I slid out of work around 2:30 and met up with Celeste for a track workout. What was supposed to be a 10×400 workout turned into a 4×400. Not only was it down pouring but we were working on a strict time schedule. So, I got to Celeste’s job at 2:51, ran to her school and waited for her to get out. We ran a mile to the high school and started out our workout.

The Track

We first said we’d take it easy starting with a 7:30 min/mi pace. I let her lead. The first set was tough and I even thought to myself, “Oh man, if this is a 7:30 min/mi pace, then I totally suck!” Turns out it was a 6:30 min/mi. We tried the second one and she let me lead this time — it was a 6:30 min/mi again. The third was a 6:51 and the fourth was a 6:45 min/mi. The rain started coming down and I was drained. We ran back to the school and halfway through I felt ill. I had to stop and walk for a minute and felt like puking. I held it in and still felt sick. As soon as we got back to her school, I puked not once, but twice. Oh, lovely Asian Salad in the toilet. T.M.I. I’m sure it there were lots of factors for me feeling ill: (1) I’m not used to doing a track workout in the late afternoon; (2) I didn’t fuel properly; and (3) It was an intense workout.

Anyhow, post run, I headed to my mom’s, picked up Lili and headed home. I took a nice hot shower and enjoyed the rest of the evening with my family.

Saturday: My abs were killing me — most likely from Friday’s workout. I ended up just doing a few chores in the morning and hanging out with Lili. I even took a nap with her for two hours in the day. Then we headed over to our diner for brunch and then to my in-laws for an hour. We did a little bit of shopping, gift wrapping and some laundry.

Sunday: I woke up with Lili and fed her. Then I put her in bed with P so I could head out for a run with the girls. I got to the meet-up spot on time but Celeste was running a tad late. I text my sister and then she text me back that she was canceling — Celeste was calling just as my sister canceled and we decided that since she was a bit late, we’d just meet at the trails to make life easier. Also, Coach Skinny Vinny (in 2006 he weighed 350 lbs. He has lost 150 pounds and now runs a 3:10 marathon) said he would meet us there too. We were happy to have an awesome tour guide. Celeste and I have been running at the trails now for three weeks, but we take the same trails. We knew there was so much to be seen still.

Celeste and I got to the trail before Vinny, so we did a 2.6-mile warm-up. When he got there, we started the trail on an uphill. Ouch. Well, it happens this way all the time because of where we park.

Deserted Valley

Deserted Valley is creepy. Houses that are empty on this long street. I would never be able to run down this street. It reminded me of scary movies like The Strangers, or The Amityville Horror

Groupies

We did a total of 9-miles with Coach Vinny, which rounded out to an 11.6-mile run altogether. We were happy with it. What I wasn’t happy was that I wasn’t dressed for a trail run. Originally we were supposed to do a road run so I dragged a thorn branch at some point that hurt like a bitch. Other than that, no other scrapes or falls. Just a good, hard run. Those 11.6-miles felt like 15-16 miles.

Post run, we stretched and then I picked up lunch for us. I showered and played with Lili. I cleaned up her toys and the living room and then took pictures of her in her Christmas dress.

Mewwwwy Christmasss

She really was the cutest thing. She’d sit by the tree so excited, smile and then run over to make sure it was a good picture. HA. I just ordered the Christmas cards (Late, I know!).

So, I’ve always been so intimidated with 5ks. I think it’s because it’s really a speedy race. I’d rather go the distance, but I think the 5k will help me as a strong runner in the long run. Celeste and I were thinking of a 5k race to see where we’re at and that way we can have more of a well-rounded speed workout. Does that make sense?

I’m off to buy new running shoes. I have way too many miles on this pair I have now AND it’s covered in MUD.

How many running shoes do you buy? Do you buy a specific one for track v. long runs? Do you buy trail shoes?

How much do you spend on races a year?

I quit the gym because it was supposed to save me money, but the amount I spend on races + shoes = gym membership? I don’t think so, but I should probably keep a tab on it.

Bake, Eat, Run, Repeat…

7:15 AM: Chalene Extreme Burn Intervals Circuit – COMPLETED

3-4:00 PM: 10×400 Track Workout – PENDING

Oh, Friday. It’s nice to see you again. First things first, I just want to wish all my running friends amazing races this coming weekend. I am so looking forward to reading everyone’s updates next week. So exciting.

Second, I baked a Chicken Pot Pie last night. I haven’t made it in months, maybe over a year. Instead of putting into one big pie dish, I decided to make “individual size pot pies” and they came out delicious. Also, because Pedro isn’t a fan of the Chicken Pot Pie, I added carrots and extra green peas. I’m the only that will be eating them so why not, right?

Individual Chicken Pot Pies

They are so good, you won’t be disappointed. It’s also pretty easy to make. It takes about an hour total (give or take 5-10 minutes) with prep/bake time.

Post-dinner, we watched TV, played with Lili, gave her a bath, read her books and put her down to sleep. I had plans to bake banana bread since the bananas were super ripe, but I never got to it. I ended up passing out after midnight and waking up a few minutes before 7. I hate seeing food go to waste, so I ended up baking two banana breads.

Before

While the banana bread was in the oven, I did my workout (45-minutes) and then got Lili dressed, I changed, I packed my gym bag and then I looked for my house keys. Lili misplaced them and of course, by the time the banana bread was done, it was time for me to go.

After

Of course, I was annoyed because I couldn’t find my keys and Lili really isn’t any help in that department, but how could you ever get mad at this face?

“I don’t know where your keys are!”

How many days a week do you cook dinner? Do you eat leftovers? Do you order in once or more times a week?

Again, well wishes to my fellow running friends at their races. Hope everyone PRs.

Too Much Baggage

7:00 AM: Chalene Extreme Push Circuit 3 – COMPLETED

I really do miss running first thing in the morning. I just don’t have the time with the baby (poor excuse, I’m sure). So, a bulk of my runs are being done at lunch (because God knows I have zero motivation after work hours). The only annoying part of a lunch time runs is the bag I have to carry. I don’t even carry a purse anymore. (Believe it or not, I am used to being sweaty and smelly so that doesn’t bother me (or offend anyone else at the office) one bit).

Too Much Baggage

Believe me, this is all I need to carry. I already have to carry a baby bag from and to my parents/in-laws. No way am I carrying an extra bag.

Yesterday’s run felt pretty slow. Granted the winds were crazy and for a minute, I regretted not wearing arm warmers. After a half a mile in, I warmed up and thought to myself that I would have been extremely hot if I had worn the arm warmers. So I made the right choice.

Before and After

Can you tell my hair is sweaty? Thank heavens for body spray.

For Buck’s County Marathon, I ended up taking off my arm warmers around mile 21. Actually, I hated my entire racing outfit. I was mad I chose capris over shorts — lesson learned.

When I got back from my runch (run at lunch), lunch was waiting for me. Perfect.

Chicken Apple Walnut Salad

Best.Salad.Ever. It was so delicious.

Do you shower in the morning or night? If you shower in the morning and then workout at lunch, do you shower again in the evening?

I shower first thing in the morning. On most nights that I do run at lunch, I am guilty of not showering (is that gross?). I did, however, shower last night (oh and this morning too — I just didn’t have to wash my hair. Thank goodness because it’s cold as balls out there and the last thing I need are icicles at the tips of my hair).